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If they are so reliable, why are they constantly having to come up with new boards for the XV90 because of bugs? Why did they yank the previous version BLW0732 inducer that had so many control problems? Why have they extended the warranty on the troublesome Intell-ignition boards? How about the bulletin & labor allowance on the failing "trasition recepticals" and secondary heat exchanger headers on the 90s? Why did they have a bulletin out on the earlier B condenser fan motors (MOT8895) that were so unreliable? Why did they have a recall on 15kw air handler heat kits to check for loose connections. And they are switching to all aluminum evaps soon because, according to a factory rep at Comfortech - too many leakers. We replaced a leaking 3 year old TXA the other day with a brand new leaking TXA! Oh yea, the XL19i small compressors, thanks been! ... come on dash, you could think of a few here too

Nathan, one thing to remember about advice here, guys sometimes forget that what's best in their area might not be best for everyone. If you are in an area that an 80% furnace and higher SEER A/C is wise, work with your builder and architech that way. Most on here push the most expensive stuff to people that ask. I remember a survey where regulars listed what's in their own homes. Most had standard stuff and many were mismatched junk they probably took out from a customers home!

Every manufacturer has stuff like this. I install Trane in new construction and change out applications and have very little trouble with them. I also carry Armstrong and Ducane. Had more trouble with Armstrong than any of them. Any one of us could go through a laundry list of service bulletins and recalls on any brand.

I have sold York for 15 years and just started with Trane this past year. Other than Trane having its own compressor all other motors, boards, relays, capacitors,gas valves, and switches are made by someone else in both brands. The real test is how they make everything work together with no problems and I think for the moment Trane has the upper hand. You can also tell that Trane spends more on the cabinet than York as well as other minor details. I could sell both, but sell 98% Trane simply because of minor flaws in Yorks new 90% furnaces. There will always be problems with motors and boards but its the design of the furnace that is important. After having a good 90% furnace for several years, York quit making it and changed to the new ones without having all the problems worked out and I don't enjoy going back to do things over because of their lack of engineering.

Originally posted by nathan9999 Trane, so what is your opinion of the new Affinity line? It seems as though you might think they rushed the development of their new line.

I did not install any of the Affinity furnaces but I think they are the same design as the GY9 series just with a different cabinet and front. After having problems with the few GY9 furnaces I had installed I switched to Trane and didn't look back. I think you would be happy with either brand if you have a good dealer that will take care of problems. York has always been good to work with on problems and to the homeowner it would not matter as long as the dealer stands behind what they sell.

We have been a York dealer for about the last 9 years. I think they have been a good line and the support I have recieved has been great. The GY series is a cheaper version of the affinity. We have begun to install the Affinity and they seem to be a solid unit. I don't like the way the door fits on the furnace, as it is a bit of a pain in the butt to get on but thats mionor. The diamond series seemed to have some problems with a few blower wheels coming apart and I also saw a few induced draft fans fail. We've replaced boards on every brand of furnace, but I like the fact that the new board will hold up to 5 of the last fault codes. As far as the a/c's go they seem to be very quiet, but a little large. Oh and by the way has any one told you "People like color". Sorry the York brainwashing has taken hold.

"The diamond series seemed to have some problems with a few blower wheels coming apart and I also saw a few induced draft fans fail."

I think you know my system!

We have a York Diamond 80 that is 10 years old. In the Winter of 2003 I woke up one morning and notice it is TO quiet! Fan in the "On" position, "Heat" selected, 67 in thr house, tep set at 71. Had to have a tech come out and check it. He said that the blower threw a weight, causing the motor to go bad. It would go through a heating cycle but as soon as the burners shut off so would the motor. We had to go for 5 days with no heat in Northern VA! During the 5 days I turned the fan on, and it would run about 1 min then go off for about two and repeat. Once we got it going again we were very happy. A few months later The inducer wheel threw a weight! At least he threw on a temporay weight for that. Other problems we have had include: Dirty flame sensor, bad compressor contactor, and on our HP, the defrost board failed.
This little story may make York look bad but I think it is just a sign of aging. In short, Yes I think York is good!

I am in business to sell furnaces and air conditioners and most people that buy from me do so because of other people recomending me to them. I don't understand dealers not keeping parts for what they sell and making people wait for days. It would not work here.

Re: Trane in my house

Originally posted by mr big Beenthere; wrong again! I have Carrier in my house. Two 38YXA outdoor units with FV variable speed air handlers. Good systems; the 3.5 ton outdoor with the double row coil a little more noise than expected. However, even with Carrier in my home & after selling Carrier for 25 years, I have to admit that all studies I have ever seen throughout my career found that Trane was the most reliable. Even when I sold Carrier, I never bad mouthed GE or Trane because I knew they had good reliable products. I sold more than 100 million dollars worth of Carrier equipment to contractors & made a pretty good amount of money doing it. I retired at 53 & do not have to work anymore. I quess what I am saying is that you do not have to sell the most reliable products to be successful. Mcdonalds does not have the best hamburger, but they sell more of them than anyone else! There is a difference in reliability between manufacturers & I am independent enough to say it.

Imagine what "big" could have sold if he had a product he believed in??LOL

Sorry Big,couldn't resist!! Are you,Joe M.,with the suspenders,or do you know him??

Joe M ????

Dash, Not sure who Joe M is. I am not sure I could have sold as much Trane, but possibly I could have picked up the difference on the commercial side! I do not think I could sell anything except Carrier & Trane. They are the Kings of the trade!

Originally posted by beenthere trane, have you installed any of the Affinitry heat pumps yet.

And yea, the door is a pita.

Did you have any of the fist 40 inchers with the undersized factory drip tees.

The tees were the only real problem we ran into.

On that diamind, a universal wheel would have worked also, I find it hard to believe they couldn't get you heat faster then 5 days, thats just bs, when a company does that.

No, I don't install heatpumps only 90% furnaces and A/C(no 80%s either) Yes I had the first 40 inch furnaces and i'm sure they have improved them by now. The exhaust outlet being only 1.5 inches caused the water to not drain back because of the velocity do to the undersized pipe. We had to go back and install tee's in all of them and some were almost impossible to do because of the places installed in commercial buildings. Now they tell you in the installation instructions to install the drain tee but it seems that we took a step backwards on this design. The first boards also caused problems and to use a power stealing stat you had to add a small capacitor. I also have a shelf dedicated to blower wheels for the diamond 90% furnaces because of some failures mostly with 5 ton drive units.